


Starkhaven Whiskey

by sophe



Series: Warden Secrets -Short Stories [4]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: AU, Corypheus not dead, Gen, Legacy (DLC) aftermath, minor language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 01:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1208137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophe/pseuds/sophe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catte snuck into Kirkwall in the middle of the night.  After checking in briefly with Stroud at the lodge the Wardens kept just outside of town, she headed towards the Hanged Man.  Bethany had provided a full if succinct report of what had happened in Vimmark, but Catte had written too many of the same reports and knew that there was much more there and she intended to find the answers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starkhaven Whiskey

Start of 9:38

Once Catte slipped into Lowtown, she dropped from sight. She trotted towards the Hanged Man and lurked outside until a patron left, giving her enough of an opportunity to sneak through the door without being noticed. A quick survey around the main room of the tavern let her know that the dwarf she was looking for was either in his rooms, or out for the night. She was hoping for the former.

Catte wove around the floor, avoiding contact with the customers, and waited a few moments to make sure no one was going up or coming down before heading up the stairs herself. A furtive look over her shoulder and she tested Varric's door. Unfortunately it was locked. Crouching down, she examined the lock and clucked her tongue in disappointment. It would be easy for her to pick it, almost too easy, except that from what Stroud was able to tell her, no one in Kirkwall would even consider breaking into Varric's rooms. She slid her tools from a belt pouch and lifted each of the bars of the lock until she heard the satisfying clicks of a completed job. One more look behind her and then she snuck into the dwarf's rooms, closing the door quietly behind her.

Catte lit a few of the lamps. Smiling, she reached for a bottle sitting on a shelf. She whistled when she saw the label. Starkhaven Whiskey. And not just any Starkhaven Whiskey, this was old Starkhaven Whiskey. She couldn't resist. Besides, Varric was said to be a genially host, surely he wouldn't begrudge her having a glass. She wet her lips in anticipation. Sitting down in the chair facing the door, she poured herself a glass of took a drink. She pulled a leather journal from her belt pouch and set it on the table in front of her and waited. With the whiskey.

She didn't have to sit alone for very long. Varric might not have been surprised to find someone in his room, but once he looked at her she saw his eyes widen.

"Hello, dwarf."

He nodded his head towards her. "I see you made yourself at home." He took a glass and poured himself a drink from the bottle. "But I don't think the whiskey was why you came for a visit, Warden Commander."

Catte lifted the glass to him and drank. No reason for small talk, besides it would just waste time, something she was running short of. "I heard you were in Vimmark recently."

Varric nodded his head slowly.

"Send a message to Hawke and the elf who was there too. Also, I need you to send a message to Stroud." She tossed him a purse of coins, "and get a room at one of the inns. Not in hightown or Lowtown, somewhere out of the way, but clean."

"And I should do this, why?" Varric sipped his drink and leaned back.

"Because I asked." Catte opened the journal and pulled out Bethany's report. She slid it across the table to him. "There are holes that need filling and it's better if everyone was here."

"What do I need to tell Stroud?" 

She smiled thinly at his compliance, not that she had really been expecting anything else. "Just that Hawke needs to see her sister."

~

Catte and Hawke had their heads bent over some documents. Occasionally Hawke would mention something, and Catte would make a correction on the document they were looking through. The rest of those in attendance were quiet, Catte didn't know if it was because of her own presence, or Stroud's glare each time someone started to speak. Once she was satisfied that Hawke had revealed to her everything about the Warden Prison that wasn't in the records, Catte leaned back in the chair. She pushed the documents over to Stroud.

When he finally looked up at her, she raised an eyebrow. "Did you know any of this?"

"I just checked the seals to make sure they were holding. I never let my people go very far and I certainly didn't let any of them stay around too long."

"But how did Larius go unnoticed for so long?" Catte took a long drink while she considered the possibilities.

"What does it matter? He ran off as soon as Corypheus died." The elf sort of grumbled and growled at.

"Varric." She focused all of her attention on the dwarf. "What do you think about Corypheus and his demise?"

The dwarf shifted in his chair under her scrutiny. "I would suggest you find Larius and ask that question"

Catte looked across to Stroud. "Corypheus is the third."

Bethany knew better than to ask questions, but her sister either didn't know or didn't care. "Third what?"

Catte closed her eyes and finished off her drink. She refilled the glass with the bottle and drank again. "There are some things that Wardens will never reveal. Not because we delight in withholding information, but because that information being out in all of Thedas has no chance at a happy ending." She looked Hawke in the eyes. "This is one of those things."

"Look, Lady Warden, I cleaned up the mess at the prison, your mess. I think I deserve to know." Hawke lifted her chin at Catte.

Catte allowed the corners of her mouth to lift in a slight grin. "My mess? It only became a mess when you showed up and broke down the door."

Hawke gripped the arms of her chair and leaned forward. Catte ignored her for the time being and looked at Bethany. "Until further notice, you will not leave the Lodge for any reason unless you are accompanied by Stroud."

Bethany nodded her head in understand, "yes, Warden Commander."

Catte poured another drink and turned in her chair to face Hawke. "I didn't call you all here to reprimand a junior Warden. I requested your presence because even though it was inadvertent, your actions have created additional complications."

Hawke glared at Catte, "Your own Wardens wanted us to free him."

Catte lifted an eyebrow, "and one of our Wardens blew up your chantry and started a shit storm. We're filled with the misfits, morons, and throwaways who no one else wants. The problem is I don't know which moron was pulling Janeka's strings." Catte hoped the message was clear. Anders might have been their misfit, but he had also been Hawke's. Every family had that one relative they hoped no one asked about, the Wardens just had a few more than most families.

Catte took a breaht. Hawke was the smallest of her current concerns, bur she was still a concern that needed be crossed from the ever-growing list. "Look, the Wardens aren't alone in keeping secrets. There are others out there who would seek you out, not only because of what you can tell them about Vimmark, but also because of what you are capable of." She looked at Varric. She tried to hide the sadness from her eyes, but she didn't think she was successful from the look of understanding he returned. "You know a Warden Secret, Hawke. One that most Grey Wardens don't even know about." 

Stroud saved her from having to make the request, "Hawke, what Catte's trying to say is that there are others who would either use you as a tool or try to get information from you. They'll take advantage of your reputation to strengthen their own cause if they have to."

"I've done fine taking care of myself." The little rogue refused to stop glaring at Catte.

"Hawke, they'll make you a martyr. Their martyr." Varric interjected quietly.

The look of betrayal on Hawke's face was evident when she looked at her friend. He wasn't supposed to side with the Grey Wardens. He was her friend not theirs. Catte felt the tiniest amount of sympathy for the young woman. She hadn't chosen to be who she was either.

"Can you get her out of here if they come calling?" Catte looked at Fenris.

The elf nodded his head, "if it keeps her alive, yes."

"I'll let Varric know if our agents hear or see anything." Stroud looked at Hawke. "I wish I could offer you protection, but the Lodge will be the first place they will look for you."

"What if I don't want to leave, what if I want to stay?" Hawke's bravado was still there, but there was little confidence backing it up.

"You don't have a choice, Hawke. The moment you walked out of Vimmark alive is the moment you became important to everyone outside of Kirkwall." Catte looked in her glass and swirled the drink around. "We can't let what you know fall into the hands of others. Think of what the Chantry or mages might do with the information." Catte pointedly looked at Fenris. "Even Tevinter will want her for what she knows."

Catte didn't have to look at her to know that Hawke finally fully comprehended what everyone was trying to get at without actually saying anything. "I can't let that happen, Hawke."

Fenris moved closer to Hawke and took her hand. "You never wanted to be Viscount, Hawke. We'll start over somewhere else, far away."

The room grew quiet, no one really knowing what to say, and they all were comfortable with the silence. 

Hawke's voice, much subdued finally shattered the quiet. "What about Bethany?"

"She's a Warden, Hawke. The safest place for her to be is under the command of Stroud." Catte actually hated herself a little bit for what she was about to say, but it had to be said. "But you need to say your goodbyes tonight. You can't see her again, or you will put her and the entire team of Wardens here at risk."

Catte gathered her documents, folding them into her journal, and packed them into her belt. She walked to the door and both Stroud and Varric followed behind her. The least they could do was to let Hawke and Bethany say their goodbyes in private.


End file.
